For any international student from a football crazy nation like I am, World Cup is the event we all look forward to. That one month of fan madness, bonding, and fighting over football teams and players, and, of course, the victories and losses are all a part of who we are. So inevitably, when Club Soccer and International Students Association (ISA) host their own, albeit shorter, World Cup the fans come out, the rivalries get intense, and the regional pride gets raped up. The 2-day event consists of 8 teams representing the 8 regions of North America, Central America, South America, Africa, Europe, East Asia, Middle East and South Asia.
(Photographer: Chukwuma Egbuzie)
The traditional rivalries bring the fans out and keep the spirits high despite the 10 – 12 degree Celsius weather, and this year was no exception. The rivalries this year were amped up by the introduction of Brownie bets with fans betting on which team they hoped would get to the final, semi-final, and quarterfinals. Our wonderful commentary team that was headed by Ishan Chatterjee and alumni Nizar Naithlo kept the competitive spirits up with their jabs at individual players as well as their jokes about the ones they didn’t know. Given the less than pleasant temperatures, fans, players, and the ISA E-Board were more than happy to have for the first time a Food Truck - Sabor Latino - which with their delicious assortment of hot fried food was an easy favorite, especially accompanied by the free authentic Cuban Coffee, and the hot chocolate being sold by ISA member Joyce Zhang.
Most people before the games would have placed money on a repeat of last year’s Europe (a.k.a the Georgian National Team) vs Africa final. However, after the shock exit of Africa in the Quarterfinals to the Middle East and the win on penalties for Europe against North America, there was hope of a shock winner this year. The final between Europe and underdogs South America was as tense as a game can get, as friends faced off and traditional footballing rivalries were ignited. The game that had to go to extra time after the teams were drawn 4-4 after the two 17 minute halves. During extra-time, however, the underdogs seemed to find an extra gear and won the game 8-5 shattering the hopes of the European team.
Given that the 3rd place and 5th place games were forfeited, the standings overall were not given. However, individual awards went to the following:
Golden Glove: Alex Hattenbach
Golden Boot: Tommy Smith, Thoma Jobava and Jeremy Hirson-Sagalyn
Most Valuable Player: Peter Sparks
Best Fan: Mariam Iashagashvilli
ISA e-board members enjoy their first event of the year.
(Photography: Fori M'nani)
